INTELLIGIBILITY OF THE RESURRECTION

20170417 INTELLIGIBILITY OF THE RESURRECTION

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

First reading

Acts 2:14,22-33 ©

On the day of Pentecost Peter stood up with the Eleven and addressed the crowd in a loud voice: ‘Men of Israel, listen to what I am going to say: Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God by the miracles and portents and signs that God worked through him when he was among you, as you all know. This man, who was put into your power by the deliberate intention and foreknowledge of God, you took and had crucified by men outside the Law. You killed him, but God raised him to life, freeing him from the pangs of Hades; for it was impossible for him to be held in its power since, as David says of him:

I saw the Lord before me always,

for with him at my right hand nothing can shake me.

So my heart was glad

and my tongue cried out with joy;

my body, too, will rest in the hope

that you will not abandon my soul to Hades

nor allow your holy one to experience corruption.

You have made known the way of life to me,

you will fill me with gladness through your presence.

‘Brothers, no one can deny that the patriarch David himself is dead and buried: his tomb is still with us. But since he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn him an oath to make one of his descendants succeed him on the throne, what he foresaw and spoke about was the resurrection of the Christ: he is the one who was not abandoned to Hades, and whose body did not experience corruption. God raised this man Jesus to life, and all of us are witnesses to that. Now raised to the heights by God’s right hand, he has received from the Father the Holy Spirit, who was promised, and what you see and hear is the outpouring of that Spirit.’

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 15(16):1-2,5,7-11 ©

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.

  I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.

O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;

  it is you yourself who are my prize.’

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,

  who even at night directs my heart.

I keep the Lord ever in my sight:

  since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;

  even my body shall rest in safety.

For you will not leave my soul among the dead,

  nor let your beloved know decay.

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

You will show me the path of life,

  the fullness of joy in your presence,

  at your right hand happiness for ever.

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

Ps117:24

Alleluia, alleluia!

This day was made by the Lord:

we rejoice and are glad.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 28:8-15 ©

Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell the disciples.

  And there, coming to meet them, was Jesus. ‘Greetings’ he said. And the women came up to him and, falling down before him, clasped his feet. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; they will see me there.’

  While they were on their way, some of the guard went off into the city to tell the chief priests all that had happened. These held a meeting with the elders and, after some discussion, handed a considerable sum of money to the soldiers with these instructions, ‘This is what you must say, “His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.” And should the governor come to hear of this, we undertake to put things right with him ourselves and to see that you do not get into trouble.’ The soldiers took the money and carried out their instructions, and to this day that is the story among the Jews.

INTELLIGIBILITY OF THE RESURRECTION

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 2:14. 22-33; MT 28:8-15]

Christian Faith stands or falls with our belief in the resurrection of our Lord.  Indeed, the resurrection of Christ is the foundational doctrine of Christian Faith.  All other doctrines of the Church depend on this sole doctrine.  Without the resurrection of Christ, there is no way for us to speak about the doctrines of the Incarnation, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity, Justification, Judgement and Resurrection on the Last Day, the efficacy of the Sacraments, the reality of our Lord in the Eucharist and the forgiveness of sins through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and the infallibility of the Church under the leadership of our Holy Father.

Truly, if you have absolute faith in the resurrection of Christ, then we will never be afraid of tomorrow, the future and especially death.  Because in Jesus, hatred has been overcome by love, death by life.  We know there will always be a tomorrow no matter what happens to us.  We should never fear death because we know our life on earth is but a pilgrimage.  Upon death, we will enter into the fullness of life.  On the last day, we will be resurrected like Christ.  We will have our transfigured bodies.  We will still be able to eat like Jesus, be in communion with everyone, not just with our loved ones.  We can transport ourselves from one place to another, walk through doors like Jesus with our transfigured bodies.

How, then, can we be sure that our faith in the Risen Lord is credible? As the gospel suggests, some could say that the Lord’s body was stolen.  Maybe, they only saw a ghost, not the resurrected Lord.  The truth is that it is very difficult to prove the resurrection of our Lord because seeing the Risen Lord is something beyond human imagination and expectation.  It is too difficult to believe it is true.  Even the apostles and the disciples initially greeted the news of the resurrection conveyed by the women with disbelief.  For the women themselves, when they encountered the Risen Lord, they were filled with awe and amazement.    Most of all, they were filled with a joy that was indescribable.  This is what the gospel said,  “Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell the disciples.  And there, coming to meet them, was Jesus. ‘Greetings’ he said. And the women came up to him and, falling down before him, clasped his feet.”

For this reason, we can understand why today many people in the world still do not believe in the resurrection of our Lord.  This should not be surprising.  Since they have not seen the Risen Lord, why should they believe?  Whilst it is true that we can explain the missing body of Jesus as mentioned in the Story of the Empty Tomb, it could be, as suggested by some skeptics, that the body was stolen.  Maybe, the disciples were hallucinating when they claimed they saw the Lord because they were missing Him.  Indeed, those who cannot understand the mystery of the resurrection, like the religious leaders during the time of Jesus, try to explain this mystery away by covering up the facts and offering other interpretations.  Only those who are ready to accept the power of God’s intervention can be more receptive to the possibility of the resurrection.  This was what St Peter tried to show the logical or reasonableness of their belief in the resurrection of our Lord.

Firstly, we take note that the first instruction of the Lord to the women was: “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; they will see me there.”  The command to go back to Galilee where Jesus began His ministry and where the disciples were chosen and formed was important because the Risen Lord was not another reality or another person but the one and same Jesus of Nazareth, risen and transformed.  The One who had risen was identical with the Jesus of Nazareth.

This explains why St Peter took pains to show that the Risen Lord was Jesus of Nazareth, “a man commended to you by God by the miracles and portents and signs that God worked through him when he was among you, as you all know.”  So the Risen Lord is the Jesus of Nazareth.  In His earthly life, through His miracles, teachings and love for the people, it was the same God who “worked through Him.”  Jesus was truly sent by God for the salvation of His people.  This was recognized by the people who encountered Him.

Secondly, St Peter made it clear that the passion and death of Christ, although carried out by sinful and ignorant men, was within the plan of God.  The death of Jesus was not contrary to the His divine plan.  “This man, who was put into your power by the deliberate intention and foreknowledge of God, you took and had crucified by men outside the Law. You killed him, but God raised him to life, freeing him from the pangs of Hades; for it was impossible for him to be held in its power”.  Quoting from the psalm (16:9f) and the scripture, St Peter illustrated that this was foreordained by God. Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of King David. “But since he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn him an oath to make one of his descendants succeed him on the throne, what he foresaw and spoke about what the resurrection of the Christ: he is the one who was not abandoned to Hades, and whose body did not experience corruption. God raised this man Jesus to life, and all of us are witness to that.”  King David said, “And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad.  Even my body shall rest in safety for you will not leave my soul among the dead, nor let your beloved know decay. You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence, at your right hand happiness forever.”

In fact, what he said was not new because Christ revealed to them the plan of God when He explained to the disciples at Emmaus.  “’Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!  Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’  Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.”  (Lk 24:25-27) Christ’s death was necessary to show that death need not be feared because the last word is not death but life.  By dying in His human body, Jesus died to death.  With death conquered, the resurrection shows forth the fullness of life.

Thirdly, we know that the resurrection is real because of the transformation of life.  St Peter after Pentecost told the crowd, “Now raised to the heights by God’s hand, he has received from the Father the Holy Spirit, who was promised, and what you see and hear is the outpouring of that Spirit.”  In other words, even if you do not believe that He is raised, we can see from the effects which are seen in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that the Father raised Jesus from the dead.  Now ascended on high, the Risen Lord bestows the same Spirit on all Christians so that we can have a foretaste of the risen life here.

In the light of the above, we can be confident that the witnesses to the Risen Lord are credible.  Even if the resurrection cannot be proven, the testimony is credible, faithful to the scriptures, and in continuity with the Jesus of Nazareth, in His teachings and life.  So the fact of the resurrection is credulous and faith invites us to submit to this revelation from God.

Finally, if the future of our life is to be with Christ and in Christ, then why are we still holding to the present life as if it is the fullness of life?  That is why St Paul himself quipped, “Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death.  For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.  If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer.   I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.”  (Phil 1:20b-24)  Let us now live the resurrected life and now, so that we can enjoy the fullness of it hereafter.  To live the resurrected life is to live a life of love, freedom from all fear and anxiety, to take one day at a time knowing that the Lord will show us the way; knowing that He holds tomorrow and He holds our hands.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved